This is a five-part blog on the best players of the PBA in the 2023-24 season.
For this list, I used this multiplier:
POINTS | 1.25
REBOUNDS | 1.5
ASSISTS | 2
STEALS | 2.5
BLOCKS | 2.75
To make the list, the players must have 400 total stats or more. To rank higher on the list, the players must have a combined average of 20 or more.
This list favors the teams with the most games. Gone are the days when the best team gets at least 60 games, but it’s safe to say that most players on this list had a combined 25 or more games.
20 | JASON PERKINS | PHOENIX FUEL MASTERS
2023-24 OVERALL TEAM RECORD | 13 – 15 (.464)
2023-24 PBA COMMISSIONER’S CUP SEMIFINALIST
2024 PBA ALL-STAR SELECTION
SEASON AVERAGES | 15.8PPG – 7.2RPG – 2.1APG
Since coming to the squad in 2017, Jason Perkins has been the team's most reliable star. While Johnathan Williams, the former LA Laker and Washington forward had a hand in their semifinal surprise, no one can argue what he brought to Phoenix's table. In the Philippine Cup, Perkins averaged 17.6 points, 7.9 rebounds, and 3.1 assists. Like Meralco, Phoenix's lineup is centered on draft picks. The Fuel Masters have had moments of brilliance in the past decade but hopefully, Perkins and their young core will obtain enough experience to raise their game to the next level.
19 | JAMIE MALONZO | BARANGAY GINEBRA KINGS
2023-24 OVERALL TEAM RECORD | 20 – 14 (.588)
2023-24 PBA COMMISSIONER’S CUP SEMIFINALIST
2023-24 PBA PHILIPPINE CUP SEMIFINALIST
2024 PBA ALL-STAR SELECTION
SEASON AVERAGES | 14.8PPG – 6.1RPG – 3.2APG – 0.7SPG
I think it's safe to say that for missing almost 50 percent of Ginebra's games this season, Jamie Malonzo is the number one reason the Kings failed to secure a finals berth. I mean, look at his numbers. If he averaged 15.3 points, 5.3 rebounds, 3.2 assists, 0.6 steals, and 0.6 blocks during the Commissioner's Cup, imagine how he'll do in the Philippine Cup. Anyway, he's probably a month or two away from returning to action, and imagine this brand new Ginebra lineup with Stephen Holt as the point forward with Jeremiah Gray being the other high-flying guy in the squad.
18 | DON TROLLANO | NLEX / SAN MIGUEL
2023-24 OVERALL TEAM RECORD | 33 – 11 (.750)
2023-24 PBA COMMISSIONER’S CUP CHAMPION
2023-24 PBA PHILIPPINE CUP FINALIST
2024 PBA ALL-STAR SELECTION
SEASON AVERAGES | 12.3PPG – 4.7RPG – 1.1APG
So Don Trollano was averaging 17.4 points, 3.1 rebounds, 2.7 assists, and 0.9 steals before NLEX traded him to San Miguel. Was it a bad trade for NLEX? Not really, since they got Robert Bolick from it. And it's not like Trollano went from top player to bench warmer with the Beermen. Yes, Trollano took a backseat to JMF and CJ Perez, but he was able to win his second PBA championship. He also had a Villanova-like moment when he got reunited with former Adamson coach Leo Austria, as well as former college teammates Jericho Cruz and Rodney Brondial. Trollano also scored his first All-Star Game this season as well.
17 | JIO JALALON | MAGNOLIA HOTSHOTS
2023-24 OVERALL TEAM RECORD | 21 – 13 (.618)
2023-24 PBA COMMISSIONER’S CUP FINALIST
2024 PBA ALL-STAR SELECTION
SEASON AVERAGES | 9.7PPG – 5.0RPG – 5.1APG – 1.7SPG
It's insane that when Magnolia decided to break their three-guard lineup, they traded Jio Jalalon over Paul Lee. While I get the decision because Angas ng Tondo is more popular, I feel like the former Arellano guard has a better all-around game. That said, this is a chance for Jalalon to have better career numbers. It's shocking to find out that Jalalon has only won one championship with Magnolia and except for the Defensive Player of the Year award in 2022-23, Jalalon has never made the PBA Mythical Team.
16 | JAVI GOMEZ DE LIANO | TERRAFIRMA DYIP
2023-24 OVERALL TEAM RECORD | 9 – 16 (.360)
SEASON AVERAGES | 16.4PPG – 5.7RPG – 2.2APG – 1.3SPG
Terrafirma will most definitely miss the services of KBL-bound Javi Gomez de Liano. I know Team Dyip gets flak for being bullied in their trades but at the moment, he had a better career than that of his trade partner, Jeremiah Gray. Javi GDL, Stephen Holt, and Juami Tiongson played beautiful music together and even gave the San Miguel Beermen a scare in their quarterfinal duel. Javi finished his final conference with 16.4 points, 5.9 rebounds, 1.9 assists, 0.8 steals, and 0.9 blocks.
15 | SANTI SANTILLAN | RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO PAINTERS
2023-24 OVERALL TEAM RECORD | 14 – 16 (.467)
2023-24 PBA PHILIPPINE CUP SEMIFINALIST
SEASON AVERAGES | 15.0PPG – 6.6RPG – 2.1APG
Santi Santillan got all the offensive plays of Javee Mocon. That said, the DLSU Green Archer is entering his fifth season as one of the leaders of Yeng Guiao's young core. Santillan peaked during All-Filipino, with averages of 17.1 points, 7.8 rebounds, and 2.6 assists. While I am a fan of Gabe Norwood and James Yap, I thought he deserved the all-star nod with his performance last season. That said, with Rain or Shine's Philippine Cup rank, I think Santillan is going to surprise a lot of people with a potential Mythical Team selection.
14 | CLIFF HODGE | MERALCO BOLTS
2023-24 OVERALL TEAM RECORD | 25 – 14 (.641)
2023-24 PBA PHILIPPINE CUP CHAMPION
2024 PBA ALL-STAR SELECTION
SEASON AVERAGES | 9.5PPG – 7.7RPG – 2.3APG – 0.9SPG – 0.9BPG
2024 has been a good year for Cliff Hodge. While he is the only Meralco player to earn a Mythical Team selection, the 2024 PBA All-Star Game is the first time he has ever played in its main event. And his most important achievement in 2024? Hodge was instrumental in helping the Meralco Bolts win their first-ever championship. And what's extra special is that the title Meralco first won is seemingly the most important, All-Filipino one. A Bolt since 2012, Hodge averaged 9.7 points, 7.9 rebounds, 2.2 assists, 0.9 steals, and 1.0 blocks in the Philippine Cup.
13 | BEAU BELGA | RAIN OR SHINE ELASTO PAINTERS
2023-24 OVERALL TEAM RECORD | 14 – 16 (.467)
2023-24 PBA PHILIPPINE CUP SEMIFINALIST
SEASON AVERAGES | 12.9PPG – 5.9RPG – 3.9APG – 0.9SPG
In a time when most of his contemporaries experienced career decline, Beau Belga is holding his own. In fact, at 37 years old, Big Beau averaged career-highs in points, assists, steals, and three-point percentage in the 2023-24 PBA season. Leading the young ROS core, Belga averaged 14.9 points, 6.9 rebounds, 4.8 assists, and 0.8 steals in the Philippine Cup. His team also enjoyed his success because this led to Rain or Shine's return to the semifinals. And on April 2024, wearing their old school Welcoat jersey, Belga became the first Elasto Painter to finish the game with a triple-double.
12 | JUAMI TIONGSON | TERRAFIRMA DYIP
2023-24 OVERALL TEAM RECORD | 9 – 16 (.360)
2024 PBA ALL-STAR SELECTION
SEASON AVERAGES | 20.6PPG – 4.0RPG – 4.0APG – 1.0SPG
If there is one player who should never leave the farm team circuit, it's Juami Tiongson. I mean, they are leaving him in Terrafirma and he is thriving. There were only two local players in the PBA last season to average 20 points, 4 rebounds, and 4 assists and unlike Robert Bolick, Terrafirma had a better starting core. While people are talking about the players lost by Blackwater during their PBA stay, Juami was drafted by the team, left on the sidelines, and released to the D-League. Realizing his status as Terrafirma's top guy, it would be awesome to see what he can do with Christian Standhardinger by his side.
11 | MAVERICK AHANMISI | BARANGAY GINEBRA KINGS
2023-24 OVERALL TEAM RECORD | 20 – 14 (.588)
2023-24 PBA COMMISSIONER’S CUP SEMIFINALIST
2023-24 PBA PHILIPPINE CUP SEMIFINALIST
2024 PBA ALL-STAR SELECTION
SEASON AVERAGES | 12.7PPG – 6.1RPG – 3.7APG
When Converge went into a rookie signing spree and sent their Alaska vets to other teams, we never expected that Maverick Ahanmisi would end up with the Barangay Ginebra Kings. Still reeling from the injury woes of Scottie Thompson and Jeremiah Gray, the recovery of LA Tenorio, and the midseason injury to Jamie Malonzo, his entry gave the squad much-needed help in the SG/SF position. Ahanmisi's season-long brilliance also paved the way for his first PBA All-Star Game appearance.